A 25-year-old jockey has received a three-year prison sentence after admitting to the manslaughter of a pensioner outside a Suffolk pub.
Levi Williams was handed the custodial term today after pleading guilty to killing Richard Wingrove, 71, during a violent altercation in Newmarket.
The fatal incident occurred on 8 March at approximately 3.40pm outside the Wagon & Horses public house, where a brawl involving four men broke out.
Williams had originally faced a murder charge, but prosecutors agreed to accept his guilty plea to the lesser offence of manslaughter.
Levi Williams was involved in a four-man brawl outside the Wagon & Horses public house
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He had been released on bail prior to today's sentencing hearing.
Court proceedings heard that Mr Wingrove and his son had been ejected from the premises by the landlord and were attempting to re-enter when the confrontation began.
Williams had been drinking in the pub garden with a friend, and the pair became embroiled in a physical altercation with the victim's son, according to evidence presented.
The jockey then directed at least one punch at the elderly man before delivering a blow to his chest, which sent Mr Wingrove tumbling onto the pavement and into the roadway.
This fall resulted in the catastrophic head injury that would prove fatal. The 71-year-old never woke from his injuries, and medical staff withdrew life support ten days following the assault.
Levi Williams directed at least one punch at the elderly man before delivering a blow to his chest
|INSTAGRAM/LEVIWILLIAMS
Williams had been in the process of rebuilding his racing career when he was arrested.
His record stood at 12 victories from 156 rides, with trainer Simon Dow providing him the most winners at four.
However, his time in the saddle had been marred by repeated disciplinary issues.
The British Horseracing Authority had imposed an 18-month suspension on him in September 2003 after he tested positive for cocaine for a second time.
A judicial panel heard he had taken the drug in a pub toilet just three days before a scheduled race, and had also "consumed a quantity of alcohol such that he was intoxicated".
He had previously served a six-month ban in 2021 for testing positive for both cocaine and cannabis.